OSTI.GOVJournal Article: Suppression of Alfven Modes on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade with Outboard Beam Injection [Suppression of Alfven Modes on the NSTX-U with Outboard Beam Injection]

Title: Suppression of Alfven Modes on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade with Outboard Beam Injection [Suppression of Alfven Modes on the NSTX-U with Outboard Beam Injection]

Abstract

In this paper we present data from experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade, where it is shown for the first time that small amounts of high pitch-angle beam ions can strongly suppress the counterpropagating global Alfven eigenmodes (GAE). GAE have been implicated in the redistribution of fast ions and modification of the electron power balance in previous experiments on NSTX. The ability to predict the stability of Alfven modes, and developing methods to control them, is important for fusion reactors like the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor, which are heated by a large population of nonthermal, super-Alfvenic ions consisting of fusion generated alpha's and beam ions injected for current profile control. We present a qualitative interpretation of these observations using an analytic model of the Doppler-shifted ion-cyclotron resonance drive responsible for GAE instability which has an important dependence on k(perpendicular to rho L). A quantitative analysis of this data with the HYM stability code predicts both the frequencies and instability of the GAE prior to, and suppression of the GAE after the injection of high pitch-angle beam ions.

@article{osti_1377834,
title = {Suppression of Alfven Modes on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade with Outboard Beam Injection [Suppression of Alfven Modes on the NSTX-U with Outboard Beam Injection]},
author = {Fredrickson, E. D. and Belova, E. V. and Battaglia, D. J. and Bell, R. E. and Crocker, N. A. and Darrow, D. S. and Diallo, A. and Gerhardt, S. P. and Gorelenkov, N. N. and LeBlanc, B. P. and Podesta, M.},
abstractNote = {In this paper we present data from experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade, where it is shown for the first time that small amounts of high pitch-angle beam ions can strongly suppress the counterpropagating global Alfven eigenmodes (GAE). GAE have been implicated in the redistribution of fast ions and modification of the electron power balance in previous experiments on NSTX. The ability to predict the stability of Alfven modes, and developing methods to control them, is important for fusion reactors like the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor, which are heated by a large population of nonthermal, super-Alfvenic ions consisting of fusion generated alpha's and beam ions injected for current profile control. We present a qualitative interpretation of these observations using an analytic model of the Doppler-shifted ion-cyclotron resonance drive responsible for GAE instability which has an important dependence on k(perpendicular to rho L). A quantitative analysis of this data with the HYM stability code predicts both the frequencies and instability of the GAE prior to, and suppression of the GAE after the injection of high pitch-angle beam ions.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.265001},
journal = {Physical Review Letters},
number = 26,
volume = 118,
place = {United States},
year = 2017,
month = 6
}

Alfven cascade modes have been found in low density, low {beta} plasmas on the National Spherical Torus Experiment [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)]. An extension of the theory of cascade modes which includes the coupling to geodesic acoustic modes [Breizman et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 112506 (2005)] is shown to imply their absence for typical spherical tokamak ratios of electron thermal to magnetic energy, {beta}. A scan in electron {beta} confirmed a threshold for suppression of cascade modes in good agreement with theoretical predictions.

Neutral-beam-driven compressional Alfven eigenmodes at frequencies below the ion cyclotron frequency have been observed and identified for the first time in the National Spherical Torus Experiment. The modes are observed as a broad spectrum of nearly equally spaced peaks in the frequency range from {approx}0.2{omega}{sub ci} to {approx}1.2{omega}{sub ci} . The frequency has a scaling with toroidal field and plasma density consistent with Alfven waves. The modes have been observed with high bandwidth magnetic pickup coils and with a reflectometer.

Alfven cascade (AC) modes are observed in the National Spherical Torus Experiment [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)] reversed shear plasmas over a wide range (up to {approx}25% on axis, or {approx}11% at minimum q) of {beta} (ratio of kinetic pressure to magnetic pressure). At low {beta}, the AC mode spectrum shows characteristics similar to conventional tokamaks. At higher {beta}, distinct {beta} and {nabla}{beta} effects are observed in the spectrum, including a significant reduction in the relative size of the frequency sweep and a toroidal mode number dependence in the minimum mode frequency. AC mode structure ismore » obtained using reflectometry. Fast-ion loss associated with AC mode activity is observed. AC mode polarization at the plasma edge is consistent with expectation. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) spectroscopy is shown to be usable to determine q{sub min} at both low {beta} and high {beta}. Observed AC mode structure and frequency are found to be consistent with calculations for the same plasma conditions and geometry using the linear, ideal MHD hybrid kinetic code NOVA-K[C. Z. Cheng, Phys. Rep. 211, 1 (1992)].« less